etteteatamisaeg

Etteteatamisaeg is a term used in Estonian theatre history to denote the period before the establishment of permanent theatres and professional companies in a region. The name combines ettee- meaning "before" with teatamisaeg meaning "theatre time" and is used by scholars to mark the pre-institutional phase of dramatic culture. The timeline is variable across regions, but it generally refers to the era when performances occurred outside dedicated theatre buildings and were organized by churches, municipalities, noble households, or itinerant troupes rather than by formal theatre institutions.

Contexts and practices: Performance spaces were often courtyards, guild halls, church squares, schools, or temporary stages. Repertoires included religious plays, hagiographies, morality plays, folk dramas, miracles, and translations of works from Latin, German, Swedish, or other languages. Participants ranged from clergy and aristocracy to amateur players and traveling entertainers. The aims were educational, devotional, or entertaining, rather than professional theatre as it would later become.

Sources and significance: Evidence for Etteteatamisaeg comes from parish records, church inventories, travelogues, city ordinances, and notes in libraries. The period contributed to the codification of local dramatic conventions, language use, and audience expectations and laid groundwork for the emergence of permanent theatres and professional actors in the region.

See also: History of Estonian theatre; Early modern theatre; Pre-theatre.